Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Are school trips to Ark Encounter legal? Ken Ham and group wage battle [View all]
Source: Louisville Courier Journal
Are school trips to Ark Encounter legal? Ken Ham and group wage battle
Billy Kobin, Louisville Courier Journal Published 8:18 a.m. ET Jan. 19, 2019 | Updated 8:22 a.m. ET Jan. 19, 2019
Ken Ham, the creationist founder of the Ark Encounter in Northern Kentucky, is sparring with a national group over whether public schools are legally allowed to visit his religious attractions.
Earlier this month the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which promotes the separation of church and state, sent letters to more than 1,000 public school districts in Kentucky and four other states saying that field trips to Ham's Ark Encounter and Creation Museum are unconstitutional.
The letters, sent Jan. 8, were prompted by Ham encouraging public schools to visit his theme park, which features a 510-foot-long model of Noah's Ark.
"It is unacceptable to expose a captive audience of impressionable students to the overtly religious atmosphere of Ham’s Christian theme parks," wrote Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker, co-presidents of the Wisconsin-based foundation.
Ham is the founder of Answers in Genesis, a Christian creationist ministry that runs the Ark Park in Williamstown and the Creation Museum in Petersburg. Creationists reject the teaching of evolution and believe the Earth was created in a few days about 6,000 years ago, based on the Bible's teachings in Genesis.
-snip-
Billy Kobin, Louisville Courier Journal Published 8:18 a.m. ET Jan. 19, 2019 | Updated 8:22 a.m. ET Jan. 19, 2019
Ken Ham, the creationist founder of the Ark Encounter in Northern Kentucky, is sparring with a national group over whether public schools are legally allowed to visit his religious attractions.
Earlier this month the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which promotes the separation of church and state, sent letters to more than 1,000 public school districts in Kentucky and four other states saying that field trips to Ham's Ark Encounter and Creation Museum are unconstitutional.
The letters, sent Jan. 8, were prompted by Ham encouraging public schools to visit his theme park, which features a 510-foot-long model of Noah's Ark.
"It is unacceptable to expose a captive audience of impressionable students to the overtly religious atmosphere of Ham’s Christian theme parks," wrote Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker, co-presidents of the Wisconsin-based foundation.
Ham is the founder of Answers in Genesis, a Christian creationist ministry that runs the Ark Park in Williamstown and the Creation Museum in Petersburg. Creationists reject the teaching of evolution and believe the Earth was created in a few days about 6,000 years ago, based on the Bible's teachings in Genesis.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2019/01/19/kentucky-ark-encounter-freedom-from-religion-group-fights-school-field-trips/2615675002/
5 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read